Self Defense Tip: Don’t Get Too Close to Cover/Concealment

Our old pal FPS Russia has a strange idea of concealability. And reliability; 100-round mags are known for dependability in the same way as Agatha Lintott is known for her cleaning skills. Never mind. Let’s put that down to show biz. But when it comes to educating viewers how to use cover or concealment, Kyle could use a little education himself. Two problems here: efficiency and proximity . . .

First, you want to use (not “get to”) cover/concealment as quickly as possible. All you have to do: put the barrier between you and the threat. You could be 100 yards away (or more) and position yourself behind cover/concealment. You can then stay behind cover/concealment as you move closer—if you move closer.

The closer you get to cover/concealment, the less maneuverability you have. That’s both in terms of moving to a better firing position or more suitable cover/concealment, leaving cover/concealment to rescue a friendly and/or bringing your weapon to bear on the target.

Notice how FPS has to move slightly backwards after firing to the right of his cover. Notice how he puts the muzzle of his M16 over the barrier, making dropping back down much more problematic. We could also discuss the fact that the Internet’s favorite faux Russian’s shooting from his knees and firing his gun without aiming, but that would be churlish.

Let’s stick with this: knowing how to use cover/concealment is one of the most important skills an armed self-defender can learn. Especially as not getting shot is your number one priority. Shooting someone is simply a means to that end whether they’re dead or alive.

28 Responses to Self Defense Tip: Don’t Get Too Close to Cover/Concealment

Exactly- paintball is a great way to learn this when you’re under stress.

Remember, though, the closer you are to cover, the wider an arc of protection it provides. If you are so unlucky as to have to deal with multiple threats who aren’t standing shoulder to shoulder, you may need to sacrifice some of that maneuverability and (more importantly) visibility.

You’re right, it does go both ways. Too far away from your cover and you’re vulnerable from a wider angle. Situational awareness is very important to know how you should utilize the cover you’ve got.

Very common to see guys on the field run up to a bunker and plant their bodies right up against it. Then of course… They could barely move or see what was going on, and they’d generally end up getting shot.

what is the object of a gunfight? to survive. whether the other guy lives or dies is unimportant. you must survive. and if you do any thing like fps you lessen your chances of surviving. his stuff is strictly entertainment, not education. thus endeth the lesson.

I’ve had that same thought. This site criticizes him a lot (which is COMPLETELY warranted and appropriate), but also posts quite a few of his videos – and that is just money in his pocket, in the long run.

And thus another page is added to the epilogue of TTAG’s relationship with FPSRussia, long, long after the conclusion when they swore not to piggyback on his success in a transparent attempt to gain more hits.

There’s tons of absurd nonsense about guns “out there in them thar interwebs” – and some of it here even on TTAG. There’s not enough hours in the day to dispel all the nonsense – it’s a veritable flood of nonsense that almost makes one want to build a big boat in the driveway and start collecting two of every animal one wants to hunt in a decade…

Who even says that the Glock is loaded when he is running with it? Could have just been another take. FPS Russia is fake but then again so is every other movie / form of entertainment in which guns are used. But you do not complain about them. Just let the guy get on with it and stop being jealous.

This video is an illustration of how full-auto is for fun much of the time. How many rounds did he send down range before the first dummy exploded? (Answer: zero–he’s still in one piece.) Of course, he took quite a few with a semiautomatic weapon as well. As this fellow and as NYPD officers demonstrate, spray and pray only works with holy water.

Excluding Land of the Dead, why the hell would you have to worry about return fire from zombies? The proto-typical Romero zombie is a slow moving threat whose only weapons are teeth and the claw like fingernails so as long as the distance between the zombie and himself is more than an arms length away it doesn’t matter how close to the cover he gets. But then again the day I take anything FPS Russia or TTAG seriously is the day Zombie Jesus return eat our brains.

PLEASE GUYS-EVERYONE IS GETTING ALL BENT OUT OF SHAPE DEBATING THE LITTLE PICTURE, WHILE LOSING SIGHT OF THE BIG ONE…….FPS RUSSIA IS GUN ENTERTAINMENT, NOT GUN EDUCATION. HE IS ABOUT THE BOOM NOT THE IMPORTANT INFO, IF A PERSON CANNOT SEE THE DIFFERENCE, THEY WILL HAVE ISSUES. DO NOT EQUATE AN ENTERTAINER TO AN INSTRUCTOR. “AND AS ALWAYS-HAVE NICE DAY”…………………..